Mourinho taking nothing for granted
The Primera Division leaders triumphed 3-0 in Cyprus last Tuesday to all-but secure their progress, substitute Kaka scoring after setting up the first of Karim Benzema’s late brace.
But Mourinho insisted he would not be taking anything for granted against the Cypriot underdogs — whose giant-killing run has accounted for Lyon, Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk — and claimed he planned to stick closely to the winning formula which saw the capital club triumph 5-1 at Osasuna on Saturday.
“There won’t be many changes in the line-up,” said Mourinho at his pre-match press conference.
“The only one who played in Pamplona and isn’t on the list is (Alvaro) Arbeloa. The rest have been called up to play. Pepe is here with me (at the press conference) because he will play.
“It is a Champions League match and we have a very good aggregate. Very few believe APOEL will score four goals at the Bernabeu, but football is football and we must respect the crowd expecting a good football match, and we must especially respect our opponent.”
Mourinho’s men head into the Bernabeu encounter boasting a six-point advantage over champions Barcelona at the summit of La Liga.
Draws against Malaga and Villarreal last month allowed Barca to cut Madrid’s lead from 10 points to six, but the Portuguese does not feel his side will be adversely affected by thoughts of the title race or their recent exertions.
“My players are fine,” he said. “They don’t feel tired. They are confident and all want to play.
“I only want my team to win and to play well. We’ve been obtaining good results — regardless of who plays — from the very beginning of the season, which is very important to me.
“This group is strong and united. We’ve always felt the same way and we will stick together to the end. We will cry or laugh together on the very last day.”
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